Pakistan SC bars Zardari from becoming prime minister

Islamabad, Nov. 9 (ANI): Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari will not be able to become a member of the National Assembly and subsequently Prime Minister of Pakistan, on completion of his first term as President, if he decides to do so or is somehow unable to get re-elected as president, according to the Supreme Court judgment in the Asghar Khan case.

The judgment says that the president's office is an office of profit in the service of Pakistan and all government servants cannot contest the elections for any assembly for two years, reports The News.

Therefore, Zardari will have to wait for two years to enter the assembly or the PM house if his party gets the required number of votes. But this clause is not applicable to the president for his re-election for a second term, the paper said.

The judgment clearly states that the Constitution provides for re-election of the president for a second term but "it does not create an exception for the president for being elected to parliament". (ANI)